Baylor got a convincing win over Lehigh Friday night in Waco, but they may have suffered a big early season loss, as well.
The Bears held a 10-point lead at halftime and pulled away in the second half for a 99-77 victory, but star freshman center Isaiah Austin went down in the second half with what appeared to be a sprained ankle.
After making a jump hook in the lane with close to 17 minutes remaining, Austin came down awkwardly on a defender’s foot and fell to the ground in obvious pain. He remained on the ground for a time before being helped off the floor and led to the locker room by teammates.
Prior to the injury Austin was impressive, scoring 22 points on 10-of-12 shooting, including 2-of-4 from three-point range. The Texas native and seven-footer is the crown jewel of coach Scott Drew’s strong 2012 recruiting class.
NBCSports.com will add an update as more news becomes available.
Aside from Austin’s injury, Baylor junior forward Cory Jefferson scored 26 points and grabbed 13 rebounds. Senior point guard Pierre Jackson kicked it into gear in the second half and finished with a double-double of 14 points and 12 assists.
Lehigh star C.J. McCollum led the way for Mountain Hawks with 36 points on 14-of-31 shooting, but got little help on the offensive end from his teammates. Outside of McCollum, Lehigh shot 33 percent from the floor.
Baylor tips off again Sunday, as they host Jackson State. Lehigh returns to the court Monday against Robert Morris.
Daniel Martin is a writer and editor at JohnnyJungle.com, covering St. John’s. You can find him on Twitter:@DanielJMartin_